Football can be a ruthless business. A manager brought in with high expectations may find themselves leaving the hot seat, sometimes unfairly and prematurely.
Nuno Espirito Santo has impressed as the new Nottingham Forest boss and also did a commendable job at Wolverhampton Wanderers. But do you remember that the Portuguese coach stood at the Tottenham Hotspur dugout for a brief period of time?
He had to pack his bags after four months, but compared to others in the list below, Nuno enjoyed a lengthy reign in the manager’s seat.
For example, Tony Pulis was relieved of his position as manager by Sheffield Wednesday in 2020 after a reign which lasted just 45 days, and a record of nine losses and one win. Wednesday had started the season with a deduction of six points due to ‘financial irregularities’, which didn’t make Pulis’ job any easier, but the results since he took charge have seen the Championship team mired in the relegation zone.
While a month and a half can hardly be regarded as a lengthy tenure in any profession, surprisingly, Pulis’ reign is not even in the top eight shortest in the history of the English game.
Here is our list of eight unfortunate managers who lasted even less time in the top job:
31 Days: Paul Scholes – Oldham Athletic, 2019
Scholes is rightly lauded as having been one of the greatest English midfield players of recent years, but unfortunately his managerial career was less impressive. His first – and to date only – job as a full-time manager lasted just a month before he handed in his resignation.
As a local lad, Scholes went into the position with struggling Oldham hoping that he could be the one to pull them out of the depths of Division 2, but quickly found that the job was even trickier than he had foreseen. Disputes with the board over player selection meant that Scholes soon packed his bags, leaving a record of 1 win, 3 draws and 3 losses behind him.
28 Days: Paul Hart – QPR, 2010
Paul Hart enjoyed a long career as a footballer, bouncing around the lower divisions and accumulating a total of 567 league appearances. His career as a manager followed a similar path, as he held the top job with a number of clubs before being hired by Queens Park Rangers in December of 2009.
Like Scholes, Hart quit the role rather than being given the boot, saying that he was “very unhappy with certain situations”. This was interpreted by some as a reference to dealing with then-owner Flavio Briatore, who had previously enjoyed a rather ‘colourful’ past, and who himself stepped away from the club in 2010.
13 Days: Micky Adams – Swansea City, 1997
The mid-90s were a whirlwind for Swansea City, as the club found itself riding a managerial merry-go-round. There were half a dozen managerial changes over the course of 18 months at one point, and two of those have made it to our list.
Micky Adams came to the Vetch Field in a player-manager capacity, but his tenure lasted less than two weeks. Adams couldn’t avoid defeat in any of the three matches he was in charge. The former Fulham boss resigned afterwards, citing he did not have enough transfer funds to rebuild the squad.
9 Days: Martin Ling – Cambridge United, 2009
Martin Ling became the Cambridge United boss in 2009, but decided to call it quits only nine days later. He had replaced Gary Brabin, who had left after falling out with then club chairman George Rolls.
Ling soon realised that he shared many of Brabin’s concerns and left the club before managing a single game for The U’s. However, the club did renegotiate with the former Leyton Orient manager and reappointed him eight days later.
Ling would stay at the National League outfit for 18 months in his second spell, but failed to get them promoted to the Football League. Cambridge relieved him of his duties in February, 2011 after a winless run of four matches that left them 16th in the Blue Square Bet Premier standings.
8 Days: Billy McKinlay – Watford, 2014
Unlike Hart and Scholes, Billy McKinlay had no say in his departure when he was replaced as Watford manager after just eight days in charge. McKinlay is a former Scotland international player, and his CV boasts coaching roles with clubs from around Europe.
He found himself in the manager’s chair at Watford when his predecessor Oscar Garcia had to step away for health reasons, but clearly owner Gino Pozzo had his own ideas about who should inherit the role, appointing ex-Chelsea player Slavisa Jokanovic to take over.
McKinlay can console himself with the fact that he maintained an unbeaten record during his short stint, claiming a win and a draw in those eight days.
7 Days: Kevin Cullis – Swansea City, 1996
Swansea City made one of the strangest managerial appointments in football history when they chose to bring in Kevin Cullis as their new manager. The Welsh side were playing Third Division football by then, but Cullis had no senior football management experience before taking the job.
The fans were baffled to see Cullis, who previously coached Cradley Town’s U-16 team, as their new gaffer. While Cullis looked the part, his inexperience showed on the pitch. In his opening match, he oversaw a 1-0 loss to Swindon Town.
But the true embarrassment came in his second match in charge. After the Swans were 4-0 down at halftime against Blackpool, the Swansea players took matters into their own hands, ignoring Cullis’ instructions. The scoreline remained unchanged at full-time, and Cullis resigned after the match.
3 Days: Dave Bassett – Crystal Palace, 1984
Dave Bassett is one of the characters of the English game, a no-nonsense manager who enjoyed lengthy and successful spells as manager of the ‘Crazy Gang’ at Wimbledon and later at Sheffield United.
Perhaps the strains of dealing with the notorious characters at Wimbledon led to him accepting an offer to become manager of then Second Division side Crystal Palace after three years with The Dons.
He quickly had a change of heart, refusing to sign his contract with Palace and returning to Wimbledon within 72 hours, citing “unfinished business” with his old club.
Having gained promotion for Wimbledon within a couple of years, it seems that he made the right call.
10 Minutes: Leroy Rosenior – Torquay United, 2007
Compared to Leroy Rosenior’s fleeting managerial experience with Torquay United, Tony Pulis’ 45-day-spell at Wednesday seems like an absolute aeon. Rosenior holds the unenviable record for the shortest ever period as manager in the history of English football, albeit through no fault of his own.
He was appointed to the head job at the same time as the managing interest in the club was being transferred to a new consortium of owners. The incoming chief executive, Colin Lee, immediately installed his own choice as manager, meaning that Rosenior was out of a job before the ink on his contract had time to dry.
Football is a notoriously temperamental business, and doubtless there will be new names added to the list above in the coming years. That being said, it’s hard to imagine that the luckless Leroy Rosenior will be knocked off the top spot anytime soon!
